Redemption
by WarriorOfTheLight
Summary: Even though the finale for Season 2 was EPIC, this is just an idea that i had in my head since. Enjoy. Please R&R. WARNING: SPOILERS for Season 2 and Character Death. Previously known as Alternate Ending to Huntik Season 2
1. Chapter 1

Lok lay amongst the rubble at the base of the Betrayer's throne. There wasn't a place in him that did not hurt and he slipped in and out of consciousness to escape the pain.

"Lok!" he heard a voice shout. He recognised that voice. It brought a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. But he couldn't remember who that voice belonged to. He felt arms slip under him and gently lift up his torso whilst cradling him to the owner of the voice's body. "Lok please wake up." The voice pleaded. Lok felt bad at causing this person pain but he just wasn't strong enough to respond.

"Sophie" Lok heard another familiar voice shout, "What's wrong?"

_Sophie_. That name was familiar too. The problem was that Lok's mind was so clouded and fuzzy from the fall that he couldn't remember much at all. Only the pain that he was currently in.

"Cherit. It's Lok. He's not waking up. I don't have the power left to heal him." Sophie sounded frantic.

"aye lass, but I can give you my energy boost" the little white gargoyle titan blew a blast of energy straight into Sophie, causing her to gasp at the sudden rush of energy.

Sophie placed her hands gently over Lok's unevenly breathing chest and whispered "Everheal". She held her breath as she watched the magic flow into Lok and his breathing evened out.

Lok's head started to clear as Sophie's magic entered him. The pain slowly lessened and he became more aware of his surroundings. He opened his eyes to see some beautiful familiar green ones staring back at him. Lok smiled and Sophie let out a breath that she did not realise that she had been holding. Her Lok was alright. He attempted to stand but although Sophie's magic had caused most of his injuries to heal, there was a deeper extent of injury and Lok's legs nearly gave out and Sophie had to support him.

As they struggled to make their way back to the other members of the Huntik Foundation, they stumbled upon Lok's father's Holotome. Lok picked it up, hoping that it would hold even more clues of how to defeat the Betrayer. However, when he opened it, a blast of energy threw both he and Sophie back.

Lok looked up to where his father's Holotome was floating in the air next to the Betrayer. The Betrayer laughed at Lok and explained how all the time that he had been using the Holotome, he had been using Lok as a mere chess piece in his grand plan of opening the Spiral Mark and releasing the Nullifiers. Suddenly the Holotome transformed into a colossal titan. The very sight of it sent fear running through all that saw it. Lok was astounded that a titan could pretend to be a Holotome this whole time. Now more than ever did he wish that Dante was there guiding him.

The titan, Demigorgon, advanced towards where both Sophie and Lok had been blasted. All of a sudden, King Basilisk appeared from nowhere and attacked Demigorgon whilst Zhalia fought the Betrayer. However, their attempts were futile and King Basilisk was forced to return to his amulet whilst Zhalia was sent flying back. When she hit the ground, she did not move.

Lok forced himself to his feet when he saw that Demigorgon was making its way towards Sophie. She could only stare at the advancing titan in horror, too scared to make any movement. Lok saw his chance. "Hyperstride" he called flying towards the legendary titan of betrayal. "overslam!" he shouted as he made contact, forcing the titan well off its course towards Sophie.

The titan was not entirely thrown, though, as it caught Lok in one of its large hands and squeezed hard. Lok tried not to think about the damage being done as he screamed in pain. His arms were clamped by his side and he could not call forth the Willblade.

"_Dispose of this one, Demigorgon_" he heard the Betrayer say and then he felt himself flying into nothing as Demigorgon threw him down the chasm. He heard people call his name but he felt that he could only do one thing.

"Lend me your wings, Kipperin" he called, feeling the energy of the power-bonded titan surround him. He was no longer falling either. He and Kipperin flew higher and higher until they exited the chasm. Lok saw that many other members of the Foundation had now gathered and were trying to overpower Demigorgon, but to no avail. As Lok landed, Kipperin returned to its amulet and Lok felt a sudden decrease in his strength, forcing him to his knees. He looked up again and was surprised to see his mother, Scarlett and Montague all fighting side by side against the legendary titan.

They were holding their own whilst Sophie, Zhalia, Harrison and Den were attacking both Demigorgon and the Betrayer from the other side. Lok noticed that anytime the Betrayer took a hit, he would come together around the Spiral Mark on his chest. That had to be the key to his power. If only there was some way of getting to it. Lok looked down at himself, at his ripped clothing and his bloodied and bruised skin. "Everfight" he murmured, but it did very little to help him. He was exhausted and in a lot of pain. He shakily stood up and held his hand out. "Bladecall!" he shouted feeling the power of the sword rush through his body.

His use of magic had brought him to the attention of everyone around him. He saw looks of relief flash through the faces of those around him, especially his mother, Sophie, Zhalia, Den, Scarlett and Montague. What worried him, though, was the Betrayer's pleasure in seeing him again.

"_So Lok Lambert_" his voice rang out "are _you trying to get yourself killed like your mentor, Dante Vale_?" his rasping voice reverberated through the space.

Anger flashed through Lok. Dante had sacrificed himself in the hope that everyone else would defeat this threat. Even if it would be the death of him, Lok would follow through, for Dante and for the sake of mankind. A small smile came to his face as he felt an immense power flood through him. He raised the Willblade and called forth "Pendragon!". The legendary titan of champions arose but there was something different about it this time. It radiated even more power and looked different. Lok felt the bond so clearly and knew that he had power-bonded with Pendragon.

Pendragon advanced and destroyed any illusions that Demigorgon had created to throw off the Foundation seekers. The Betrayer snarled in anger. "_I've dealt with Pendragon before. I know his weakness_." The Betrayer summoned another seeker forth and Pendragon shied away.

Realisation hit Sophie. "That must be Pendragon's original seeker." She called over to Lok. He nodded, thinking frantically of a way out of this situation. He had a sudden flashback of his father in Ireland. He had said that they would be expecting Pendragon and that Lok needed something more.

An idea came to Lok. It was far-fetched but it was the best bet that he had at the moment. He raised a hand to the air, and summoned the legendary titan of summons, Quetzalcoati. A familiar blue light appeared in the sky and plummeted to Earth. The legendary titan wrapped itself around Lok protectively before lashing out at Pendragon's former seeker and destroying the illusion. Pendragon was released from its bonds and retreated to stand next to Lok, opposite Quetzalcoati.

The other seekers stared in wonder at the boy before them who controlled two of the most powerful legendary titans ever. Sandra shed a tear of pride at her son. Scarlett wondered what had happened to the klutzy little boy who she used to babysit. Sophie thought that Lok had now become the most powerful seeker. Zhalia wished that Dante was there.

Just as Lok was about to order his titans to attack, a flash of light appeared and Umbra appeared, followed by a pile of ash. The pile of ash started to burn and in another flash of light, Dante appeared. Everyone gasped and Lok mentally ordered his titans to destroy Demigorgon. Whilst everyone was distracted by Dante's return, they did not notice the destruction of Demigorgon until it had happened. Demigorgon was forced back into its amulet and Lok called back Pendragon and Quetzalcoati into their amulets, collapsing to his knees when his power was drained. Sophie started to run over when the Betrayer's voice stopped her.

"_How brave of you Lok Lambert. Unfortunately is has all been worth nothing as the leader of the Casterwill family now stands before me. It is time more me to destroy her. Deathray_." A black energy force erupted from his hand and headed straight towards Sophie.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the blast to hit, but it never came. She opened eyes just in time to see Lok jump before her and take on the full force of the blast which sent him flying back, right to the edge of the Spiral Mark. When he hit the ground he remained there, utterly motionless. The Huntik Foundation stood watching in horror. Lok Lambert, the most promising seeker, had just taken on the full force of a deadly blast. Even the Betrayer seemed to be in shock.

"_Such a shame_" he said, unconcerned. The seekers all turned back to him, united by the fire of anger lit in their eyes. "_nobody could ever survive that spell. It can only be used once a century and now I have wasted it upon that_..." the Betrayer trailed off, staring at something behind the seekers.

The Foundation turned and saw Lok struggling to get to his feet. From this distance they could not see his features, but from the way that he was holding himself, it was clear that he was seriously hurt. "_That's impossible_" the Betrayer muttered.

Lok forced himself through the pain and called forth the Willblade one last time. Having the sword in his hand gave him the strength he needed. With one mighty swing, he threw the Willblade. It passed through the air quickly before passing straight through the Betrayer, through the Spiral Mark on his chest. The Betrayer seemed to convulse before bursting apart in the air, to never return again.

The astounded Foundation turned back to Lok who stood swaying on the spot. He had forced himself to stay alive through that final act and now he felt the effect that the Deathray had had upon his body. The seekers watched as his eyes rolled back and his knees buckled, sending him down into the depths of the fiery Spiral Mark. Sophie screamed as she watched the events unfold. Lok was gone. Forever. This had been her last ever mission with the boy she loved. Tears streamed from her eyes as she collapsed to her knees sobbing. Dante stood in shock. Lok, the boy who he had come to care for like a younger brother was dead. He couldn't, he _wouldn't_ believe it. It ran to the edge of the Spiral Mark and looked down, but there was no sign of Lok, only lava. He fell to his knees is despair. Zhalia ran over to comfort Dante but inside she was a mess. Lok was part of her family. She had abandoned Klaus in favour of the Foundation and Lok had been one of the first to accept her and, like Dante, she felt almost as if he was her younger brother. Tears streamed down her face as she knelt down next to Dante and took him in her arms. Sandra stood in shock, not daring to believe what she had just seen. Her son couldn't be gone. First Eathon and now Lok. At least she knew that Eathon was alive. There was no way that Lok could have survived that. Scarlett stood staring at the spot where Lok had fallen. She had known him almost his entire life and had come to care for him greatly.

As the rest of the Huntik Foundation arrived, they could see something terrible had happened. The Betrayer was gone and there was not one happy face. Also, there was no sign of Lok Lambert. The Casterwill family went over to Sophie who was still on her knees, crying. Soon after, they were reliably informed that Lok, champion of the Casterwill family, had died in protecting the head of the family. Metz and Guggenheim were told by Dante and they let the remainders of the Foundation seekers know.

The ground gave a violent shudder, sending many seekers off their feet. Their first thought was that there was an earthquake, until they realised that the Spiral Mark was closing. Whatever it was that Lok had done, he appeared to have closed the gaping chasm that the Betrayer and Rassimov had opened. As the dust from the ground cleared, a figure became clear. He was a tall and skinny man. As he approached, his features became clear. The seekers stared as Eathon Lambert approached them. Sandra took some tentative steps closer and fell into Eathon's embrace. Eathon pulled away smiling. As he looked around, he noticed one person was missing.

"Where's Lok? Where's my son?"


	2. Music and Pain

Dante sighed and lowered the letter that he had been reading. He knew that the arrival of Scarlett and Montague would awaken bad memories in his team. It had been three years since the Huntik Foundation had defeated the Blood Spirals and the pain of losing Lok had faded but it was ever-present in their minds. Dante was so distracted with the letter that he did not hear Zhalia enter the room until she stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders in a rare sign of affection. Dante smiled at Zhalia as she took a seat on the sofa nearby.

She motioned at the letter, "is it a new mission from Guggenheim?" Dante was not ignorant to the hope in her voice. Since Lok's death the team wasn't functioning the way that they used to, and, as a result, they were called upon less and less for missions.

Dante looked at Zhalia. "In a way. Scarlett and Montague are visiting."

Dante saw the shadow pass over Zhalia's face; already the memories were returning. He hated seeing Zhalia distressed; she had already been through enough in her life. However, something that Zhalia did not have to worry about was Scarlett. The Irish redhead and Montague had gotten married last year. Strangely, they made a perfect couple for each other, a thought that never failed to amuse Dante.

Zhalia remained quiet for a while before speaking. "When are you going to tell them?" she asked, obviously meaning Sophie and Den. In the past three years, the two had grown closer, bonded by the loss of Lok. In fact, the two had grown so close that only a week ago had they started dating.

Dante sighed, "When they get home." He knew that telling them would be hard on everybody so he decided to get it over and done with as soon as possible. Also, the sooner he told them, the longer they would have to prepare for the other Huntik members' arrival.

It wasn't unusual that Sophie and Den weren't in. It was the Venice Music Festival at the moment and it gave the two the perfect opportunity to go out and have fun. However, at that moment, Den and Sophie entered laughing together about something that had happened whilst they had been out. Dante was glad to see Sophie happy as the death of Lok had affected her the most. He was sure that she had not properly gotten over him, but Den seemed to make her happy. Sophie and Den both smiled at Dante and Zhalia on the sofas before noticing the letter that Dante still held in his hand.

"Is that a mission, Dante?" Sophie asked, excited about the prospect of adventure. Unlike the other members of the team, she had been busy working on re-establishing the Casterwill family and returning them to their former glory.

Dante and Zhalia shared a look before Dante took a deep breath. "Actually, no. But we will have some visitors arriving soon. Scarlett and Montague are coming for the end of the Venice Music Festival." Dante and Zhalia both watched carefully for Sophie and Den's reactions.

Den, who had briefly met Scarlett but had known Montague, clenched his jaw tightly, trying to suppress his memories. Sophie's eyes were glassy and her mouth parted slightly. She had never liked Scarlett, not even after Lok's death. She took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions and, like Den, suppress unwanted memories. "When do they get here?" she asked quietly.

Dante opened his mouth to say that he didn't know any more than the fact that they were coming when the doorbell rang. Zhalia, who had already gotten used to this information, stood to open the door. When she did, she was surprised to see Montague and Scarlett standing on their doorstep, smiling happily. Before anyone could word their surprise, Scarlett managed to beat them to it.

"Sorry that we're early," her Irish accent bringing everyone's minds back to the adventures that they had with Lok in Ireland. "But the plane we booked was a couple of days earlier than we had thought. We were in such a rush to catch it that we forgot to tell you. If you want, we could stay somewhere else for a couple of nights."

Dante was the first to recover from the shock and quickly stood, embracing Montague like a brother. "Of course you can stay here. We were just a bit shocked at your sudden arrival." His words seemed to put Montague and Scarlett at ease as he welcomed them inside. After politely greeting both visitors, Sophie decided to go to bed, trying her best to hide her distress. Den, on the other hand, stayed for about an hour after Sophie had gone, then decided he had better let the four adults catch up. He excused himself and went to bed.

When Sophie and Den had finally gone to bed, Dante started more serious questions. "How's Sandra? And Eathon? And Sally?" Lok's family had been on his mind a lot recently because of the three year anniversary of the defeat over the Blood Spirals.

Scarlett looked uncomfortably at Montague before answering. "It took awhile but I think they have now come to terms with Lok's... death." She faltered and Montague took her hand for support. "Sandra couldn't cope for a long time. She cared so much for Lok, her youngest child and only son. She was so happy that Eathon was home, but she felt like she was betraying Lok by being happy. Eathon was distraught. He loved Lok so much and came back after ten years apart to find him dead. It seemed like such a cruel twist of fate. Eathon and Sandra had to tell Sally about Huntik and Seekers to properly explain why her brother is dead. She and Lok were so close and she wanted to know the whole truth. Of course she wasn't happy that such a large piece of information had been kept from her but after her father's disappearance and her brother's death she decided to have nothing to do with the Huntik Foundaiton."

Dante and Zhalia sat for a few minutes thinking over everything that Scarlett had just told them. They felt bad for Sally; she had been such a victim in all this.

The four adults sat talking well into the night before they, too, decided to go to bed.

The next morning found the six seekers sitting together on the sofa discussing the plan for the day. Sophie, Den, Zhalia and Dante had managed to come to terms with the arrival of the two other seekers. Dante had decided that, as a group, he and the others would show Scarlett and Montague around the Venice Music Festival. When Scarlett, Montague, Dante and Zhalia had all gone to get ready Den turned to Sophie.

"How do you really feel about showing those two around?" he asked quietly for fear of being overheard.

Sophie looked at Den hard before sighing and slouching slightly, looking older than her nineteen years. "Honestly, I would rather gouge my eyes out with a spoon."

Den laughed and threw his arm around the girl who had stolen his heart. The death of Lok had left him distraught as well as Lok had been like a brother to Den and had been the first person to actually care for him, save for his brother, Harrison. "We can't have that now can we?" he laughed before planting a light kiss on Sophie's cheek, causing her unease to disappear and a small blush crept on her cheeks. She laughed too and smacked his hand away playfully before standing to go and get ready herself.

The six seekers were slowly making their way through the streets of Venice. Wherever they went, they were greeted with a new style of music. In those rare moments, the six forgot all about their painful memories and were living in the now, laughing and joking about even the slightest things. Even Cherit was in high spirits. The little titan had barely been seen since Lok's death but he had joined the six seekers on their day out and he did not regret it. For the first time in three years he was happy.

Dante and the others had now turned down yet another bustling street and were confronted with waves of acoustic guitar music. Scarlett smiled and grabbed Montague's hand before dragging him to where people were dancing in the street. Dante, Zhalia, Den and Sophie all laughed at Montague's dancing, or lack of. The man might have been the second best seeker in the world but he definitely had two left feet. Dante offered his hand to Zhalia and she looked at him like he was insane. But then she shocked everyone by taking it and leading Dante to the dancing area. Den and Sophie looked at each other and shrugged before laughing and joining the other dancing seekers.

The song soon finished and another musician took to the stage. He wore a trilby hat, a shirt with braces and black skinny jeans. For that particular street, he blended in perfectly. Dante was dancing with Zhalia when he spotted them. Just the two of them. They had not changed in the past three years. Zhalia realised Dante had stopped dancing and turned to see what he was looking at. Shauna and Wind were standing to the edge of the mass of people and were surveying the scene before them. It appeared as if they hadn't seen the Huntik team and so Dante and Zhalia split to grab the others.

It was far too crowded to use titans or spells so hand to hand combat seemed like the only option. An anger rose in the six seekers as they became aware of the two Blood Spirals that they had never experienced before. They made a beeline through the crowd towards Wind and Shauna. However, just as they neared them, Wind sent a powerful Touchram at the musician on the stage. The seekers looked on in horror as the Touchram found its mark.

But, just when it would have hit, an energy field came up, blocking the attack. The seekers looked around themselves to see who had cast it. None of them had. As the civilians realised that there was an attack going on, they began to panic and run from the area. The musician, on the other hand, seemed quite unperturbed. He had stopped playing though. He looked down at his guitar and the seekers saw that a string on the instrument had snapped.

The musician sighed and gently placed the guitar down. Wind and Shauna tensed as the man started to descend towards them. However, they made no move to run. As the street was now clear, Wind removed an amulet to summon the titan, Shakrit, a titan that the Huntik Foundation knew was one to fear.

The man almost seemed amused by this. "Don't bother" he said simply, and to the seekers' amazement, Wind complied. The man's voice was familiar but he stood with his back to the sun so the seekers could not see his face. "Well? What do you want?"

Wind and Shauna remained speechless. It unnerved the seekers to see the two most powerful enemies of the Foundation motionless in shock. Finally Dante decided to find out who this mystery person was. He slowly started to approach and as he got closer he saw that the man had blond hair and bright blue eyes. At that moment, the sun retreated behind some thunderous looking black clouds and all the seekers looked upon a familiar, yet alien, face. Sophie's knees threatened to buckle, Dante staggered back a few steps, Zhalia's hand went instinctively to her amulets, Den took an unconscious step away from Sophie, Montague stared open mouthed in shock and Scarlett's eyes glistened with tears. There before the Foundation seekers stood Lok Lambert. Except, it wasn't Lok. At least not the one that they remembered. The man before them was, expectantly, older, but before he "died" there had been an unparalleled warmth in his blue orbs. Now, there was only an icy hardness. He looked upon the shocked Foundation seekers with disdain, yet he said nothing.

Lok turned back to Wind and Shauna. "You know, I only have one guitar. And you broke one of its strings. I hope you can understand why that kind of annoys me..." his voice took on a threatening edge and the two Blood Spirals began to back off. This did not go unnoticed by Lok. "Leaving so soon?" he raised his hand and released the most powerful Boltflare that the eight of them had ever seen. It was so hot that even the Foundation seekers felt the blistering heat at what would have been a safe distance from a normal Boltflare.

However, Lok hadn't been aiming to kill. Instead he aimed for the ground with the aim of throwing Wind and Shauna back. Both Blood Spirals were thrown back through the wall of the building behind them. Lok turned and returned to the stage and picked up his guitar, swinging across his back so that the neck of the instrument pointed downwards.

Sophie managed to find her voice again. "Lok! Wait!" she called after him, taking a few steps.

Lok did indeed stop but rather than turning to face her he simply said, "leave me be" before continuing walking. The seekers watched him turn the corner and disappear, too shocked to do anything. At the moment when Lok turned the corner, the heavens opened up and a heavy downpour began.


	3. Truth and Heights

**I just want to thank everyone for the amazing reviews that I have been getting. I'm sorry it took so long to upload, I might have experienced some writer's block...**

For once, Dante didn't have a plan.

Nobody moved as they stared at the spot where Lok had turned the corner. Scarlett let out a strangled sob, breaking the silence. Sophie felt her mind catch up and her knees turned to jelly, bringing her to the ground. The ground beneath her brought her back to her senses.

"Lok!" she shouted belatedly, hoping in vain that he would come back. But he was gone. And the anger in his eyes had chilled her to the bone.

"Right," Dante began, but his voice broke. He coughed and started again. "Right team, we should split up and search for Lok... he's dangerous but I don't think he will attack us... at least I hope he won't." He finished quietly. Zhalia placed a hand on his arm, silent but comforting.

Den offered his hand to help to Sophie, but she ignored it. How could Lok be alive? Why was he angry at them? Sophie could feel tears forming in her eyes and wondered if they were tears of frustration or tears of happiness.

Sophie stormed off in one direction whilst Scarlett marched off in the other, both hoping to find Lok first. The others stood for a moment longer before going off their own separate ways.

Scarlett knew where Lok would be. She had known him so long that it seemed obvious to her, even though the others would search all over Venice to find the blue-eyed boy. She headed to the church with the bell tower that dominated the Venetian skyline. Scarlett knew that Lok would retreat to a height. He always did. She remembered when Lok was first told that Eathon was missing he disappeared for hours. Sally finally found him atop their house.

Scarlett smiled at the memory of the cute little boy that Lok had once been. What had happened to change him so?

As she had thought, Lok sat atop the bell tower, legs dangling over the edge. As Scarlett approached, careful not to look down, Lok looked her way. Scarlett feared he would be angry at her, but instead he just appeared very tired.

"I should have known that you would have found me, Scarlett." He said wearily. Scarlett, heartened by this, sat next to him and drew her legs up to her chest for fear of hanging them off the edge as precariously as Lok did. He sighed and looked out at the horizon. "Why did you follow me Scarlett?"

Scarlett looked at him, shocked. How could he not know? Was he cold behaviour so normal to him now that any warmth that he used to harbour had gone? Her silence caused Lok to look over at her, blue eyes meeting her dark green orbs. Scarlett was shocked to see so little expression in his eyes. She tore her eyes away from his and looked at him, properly. His hair was longer and curled slightly in the Italian heat under his hat. His whole body had changed from the lanky teenager he had once been. Up close Scarlett could see Lok's defined muscles through his wet shirt. "What happened to you?" she said, more to herself.

Lok heard, however. His eyes darkened and his jaw clenched. "Why would you care?" he spat at her.

Scarlett's shock at Lok's sudden change in mood caused her breath to catch. "Why are you so angry with us all Lok?" she whispered.

Lok was quiet and Scarlett thought that he had not hear her. He sighed. "Ask my father what kept him sane all those years." He got up and went to retrieve his guitar from inside the bell tower to keep it from the rain.

"He said that knowing you were looking for him kept him sane in Huntik." Scarlett said quietly through her wet hair that had plastered to her face.

Lok froze. Every muscle in his body tensed. He slowly turned and Scarlett saw the ice in his eyes again. There was something else there as well. Scarlett realised what it was with some fear. It was close to insanity.

"If you knew that then WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME THERE? WHY DIDN'T YOU LOOK FOR ME?" he screamed at her. Scarlett could only stare. It all made sense now. He was angry at them for leaving him in Huntik without any hope. He thought that they didn't care about him. He thought that they _purposefully_ _left_ him there.

Lok was breathing heavily. The anger was written all over his body; in his eyes, in his posture. In the downpour he looked even more threatening. Although Scarlett was fairly confident that Lok wouldn't hurt her, she couldn't help but imagine falling all the way to the bottom of the church. Scarlett watched in horror as Lok's aura became visible. She remembered Dante telling her that this happened when Lok fought Rassimov in Atlantis. Back then they had thought it was Lok's potential shining through. Now it had a much more sinister tone to it. It no longer held the promise of potential, now it held the promise of death.

Scarlett's phone began to ring. The noise seemed to bring Lok back to his senses. He held his guitar and looked to the edge of the rooftop. Even before he had moved Scarlett knew what he was going to do. She shouted but Lok paid her no mind as he ran to the edge roof and shouted "hyperstride!" before jumping off the roof and into the rain.


	4. Memories and Plans

**PLEASE READ: Hi all. So here's the next instalment. Again I want to thank those who reviewed. However, something that I noticed a lot of was people telling me when I should update. Unfortunately I am incredibly busy at the moment so I'm writing when I can so therefore its taking me slightly longer than I would like to get each chapter up. I'm saying this so that you all shouldn't worry about the fact that I will give up this story, because I won't! I will continue but I can only do it when I get some time to do so. I hope this puts some minds at rest about my not-so-great timing issues :-/ anyways, I hope that you enjoy this chapter. It's very Sophie/Lok, from Sophie's POV (sort of). Let me know what you think in the reviews. **

Montague was pacing restlessly as the Huntik team awaited Scarlett's return. They had tried ringing her mobile phone but she hadn't picked up. They tried to avoid the thoughts that she fallen prey to Lok's powers.

Sophie sat rigidly on the sofa with her back straight and her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her eyes were staring, indicating that she was lost in her own thoughts. Her heart was breaking all over again. Lok was back but it wasn't _her_ Lok. This Lok seemed the complete opposite to how her Lok had been. What had happened to make him that way?

"If anything has happened to Scarlett then I'm going to kill that boy all over again." Montague's angry voice cut straight through Sophie's thoughts.

The Huntik team looked at Montague in shock. How he could say something like this just showed how much he cared for his wife. Sophie would have argued with Montague, but to her, and everyone else's surprise, Zhalia got there first.

"Don't be so sure. Lok may be... different but I'm sure he wouldn't harm any of us, most of all Scarlett. He's known her for so long that he couldn't hurt her." Zhalia wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more: them or her. Her words did, however, seem to have the desired effect and she saw the others, especially Montague, visibly relax.

Sophie wanted to cry. Seeing Lok had caused her to fall back into the turmoil she had been in after he had died. Yes, he was alive, but this Lok was so different that he might have well have been dead. Then seeing Zhalia stand up for him like that reminded her how much she missed him. Den had tried comforting her but she had pushed him away. She knew that she should have felt bad about that but she really couldn't take her mind off Lok. She felt a hand place itself on her shoulder and she was about to swat it away when she saw Dante looking down at her, an almost knowing look in his amber eyes. Like he knew what she was going through.

The sound of keys turning in the door lock brought the seekers attention back. The door opened and Scarlett walked through. She looked up, surprised that all of the seekers were still up. Before she could do anything, she was engulfed in Montague's large arms. When he finally let her go, still keeping a hand on her shoulder, her face was a mask of confusion.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" she asked. Again Sophie found her accent taking her all the way back to Ireland. Memories swam before Sophie's eyes; she remembered when they were ambushed in Newgrange Passage Tomb and Lok, fearing for her safety and trying to buy her and the others time, had pushed her through the closing secret wall. She remembered with a slight blush how hot Lok's hand had felt through her clothes on her stomach. The heat of life had coursed so strongly through him back then. She wondered if it still did.

"What's _happened_?" Montague asked incredulously. "We had no idea where you were. I thought something awful had happened to you!" Scarlett looked shocked. She turned to Montague and placed both hand on his chest.

"_I'm_ absolutely fine." The rest of the seekers felt uncomfortable with the public display of affection between the two and looked around the room, averting their eyes. "Besides, Lok would never hurt me."

That brought every eye onto her again.

"You found him?" Zhalia whispered.

Scarlett looked around the room at all the faces and realised how much they had lost faith in Lok. She didn't feel the most confident in him either after having spoken with him and seeing how much anger and resentment he now felt towards them. She sighed and motioned to the sofas. "Why don't we all take a seat and I'll explain everything..."

It only took Scarlett an hour to relay the events of the day. She had to explain how she knew where Lok would be and then she recounted her conversation with him and how he had reacted to her. The seekers seemed heartened when Scarlett told them that Lok had let her join him on the roof. However, when she got to telling them about _why_ he was angry, there was the same look of sorrow mirrored in each pair of eyes. Scarlett stole a glance at Sophie and noticed how glassy her eyes were, indicating the state she was in.

When Scarlett finished speaking, silence followed her words like a shadow. Finally Dante spoke. "It's late. We should all sleep on this if we can and then discuss it in the morning when we have let it sink in." The others agreed and went off to their rooms.

That night Sophie dreamt of Lok.

It wasn't surprising really that she did. He was all she had been thinking about solidly for hours.

She dreamt of the times that they had shared together. It started with the memory of being in the Parisian catacombs when she had fallen into the mass grave. She remembered how Lok had jumped in there after her, without a thought of his own safety, and had grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. In the dream, she relived this and felt the heat of life radiating off his body through their clothes to her. It made her blush in a way that it hadn't then.

The dream then shifted to Greece when Lok had fallen into the Oracle's cave. She relived her anxiety and fear that Lok, being the clutz he was, had fallen and broken his leg or something equally disastrous. He wouldn't be able to move. He might be unconscious. She tried over and over to get through the barrier, but to no avail. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a figure approached the mouth of the cave and Lok stepped through. Sophie couldn't contain her joy. She ran into his arms and again felt his increasingly familiar heat. But just as quickly as she had acted, her thoughts caught up to her and she leapt away from him, turning her head in hope that he wouldn't notice the blush that coloured her features. He might not have noticed, but she saw amusement course though Dante's eyes as he looked at her.

The dream shifted again to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba's tomb. She was mortified at how she had acted in Atlantis. Why did she have to be so forward? Why could she have not just buried her feelings? Now it was awkward between her and Lok and everyone knew it. Lok had kept trying to speak to her but she was glad for the interruptions. However, she still found herself facing said boy on a plinth, about to be incinerated by ancient love spells. She remembered with joy how Lok's expression had changed when he saw her in the clothes that they were now wearing. She wished that he would always look at her like that. She relived the elation of finding out that Lok felt the same way about her and they finally had the chance to be together.

When Sophie woke the next morning, she felt more tired than she had the night before. Dreaming of Lok and all the good times that they had together left her with a heavy heart. And then there was Den to consider. He had been so good to her. But he wasn't her Lok. She loved Lok in a way that she would never love Den. She didn't know what to do and was considering how to deal with it when she walked into the lounge where the rest of the seekers had congregated. Looking around, Sophie realised that nobody had slept well. There were dark circles and bags under the eyes of everyone.

Upon seeing that Sophie had joined them, Dante stood. "Right team, we need a plan. Lok is alive and hopefully still here in Venice. We need to find him before anyone else does."

"Is that really a good idea?" Scarlett questioned. "He's angry. At all of us. We saw yesterday that he is more than capable of looking after himself. What if we do find him and he loses his temper with us? I think that we need to inform Guggenheim and Eathon and Sandra. It's only fair on them."

"Wait! I thought you said that Lok wouldn't hurt us." Zhalia said.

Scarlett seemed to hesitate. "After yesterday, I don't know what to think. The boy we all knew is gone. He's dangerous and unstable-"

"And you want Sandra and Eathon to see their son like _that_?"

"No. Of course I don't! But it is only fair to at least _tell_ them that their son is alive. Don't you think?"

"And what of Guggenheim?" Dante interjected. "He's going to want to know details. Can we really give him them? Can we honestly tell him how much of a danger Lok now is? Telling Sandra and Eathon is one thing. Telling the Foundation is another. If we tell the Foundation then they might take Lok away, if they can."

Montague stood. "Not telling the Foundation is risky. We could get in major trouble for this. And how do you suppose we find Lok? We can't split up if really is that dangerous, but we won't get anywhere looking as a large group."

Silence followed. They all knew that Montague was right. The Foundation would at the very least kick them out if they found out that they had kept this from them. And there was no easy way for them to find Lok. And if they requested help from t Guggenheim and the Foundation then Lok would certainly be taken away and they all doubted if he could cope with that.

"We can't involve the Foundation." Dante said at length. He turned to Sophie. "Sophie, is there any way that the Casterwills can help our situation?"

Sophie had been quiet through the conversation. She looked at all the faces around her now looking in her direction. "I've spent the past three years bringing the Casterwills and the Foundation together. To involve them would undo everything. Even if it is for the Champion of the Casterwills." Her voice wavered and she took a deep breath to steady herself. Dante realised how much she had grown up. Once upon a time she would have charged in head first to save Lok. Now she thought and acted rationally. "Although the Casterwills are out of the picture, Santiago and LeBlanche will help."

Dante nodded. This was proving to be more difficult than he had first thought. "Fine. We should inform Eathon and Sandra. I will agree to that. The Foundation and the Casterwills will be kept in the dark about this. With LeBlanche and Santiago we could split up but we have to keep in contact with each other. Sophie, Den and Zhalia will come with me and Scarlett, Montague, LeBlanche and Santiago will go together. Sophie, I think you might need to let them know. I have a feeling that Santiago will not want to leave your side so easily." Sophie nodded. Dante waited for any protest, but none came. He sighed. "Right. I think we need to call Sandra and Eathon then."


	5. Help and Deception

**A/N: Hey all! I know this is late, even by my standards. I'm so sorry. There are no excuses. I'm going to try and be better now. I know this chapter is short but it's just a little thing before the big stuff happens. Again thank you for all those who review and follow and favourite, I couldn't be happier. Please keep reviewing so that I know how I'm doing.**

Dante closed the door to his study quietly behind him. He knew the others wouldn't approve of what he was about to do but he had no choice. Metz had always been there for him and for the first time in years and years Dante was stumped. Lok was back and already had the team on their toes. They had spent the past week scouring the streets of Venice looking for him but not even Scarlett had managed to catch even a glimpse of him.

Dante switched his computer on and began video calling Metz. After a few rings, Dante's old mentor answered, the smile turning to a frown of confusion as he saw Dante's weary face.

"Dante, what's wrong?" Metz cared for Dante like a son and he hated seeing him like this, which wasn't very often.

Before Dante could convince himself that this was a bad idea, Dante told Metz everything. He told him how Lok was still alive and so much more powerful than Rassimov could have ever hoped to be. Throughout his speech, Metz's face became increasingly drawn until Dante finished speaking and he looked twice his age.

"So, why have you told me all this? You said that you weren't going to involve the Foundation and yet you told me everything. This puts me in a very difficult position Dante…"

Dante nodded. He knew that this would be difficult but he needed Metz's advice. "Metz. There was no one else I could turn to. The team all look to me but since Lok disappeared we haven't been functioning the way we used to. I don't know what to do. Please. Help me."

Metz knew that Dante would not plead like this without reason. He sighed. "Alright. But there is no way that this can be overlooked by the Foundation. I shall inform them that there is a powerful _unknown_ seeker at large in Venice and that I have assigned your team to look into it with the aid of Scarlett and Montague. If the Foundation sends any extra seekers then we can only but hope that they will flush Lok out into the open.

I will tell you this though. Keep his identity a secret. Tell Sandra and Eathon ASAP! They deserve to know, at the very least. They might even be able to help you. Do not let your team see this doubt that I see. You are their rock and even if you are acting just make sure that they think that you know what you are doing. This is the only advice that I can give to you. I'm sorry that I cannot help you more Dante but this is breaking so many rules. I shall get Guggenheim to contact you in the morning to tell you about the tip off about the powerful seeker."

Dante smiled at his mentor. This was so much more help than he could have ever hoped for. Even now he could count on Metz. Dante heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly closed off the conversation with Metz.

The study door opened, letting in light as Zhalia made her way over to where Dante sat, looking at maps of Venice. Honestly she was worried about him. Only she knew the extent of damage that Lok's "death" had had on him. She walked up behind him and placed her hands on his broad shoulders, feeling the knots of tension beneath the skin.

"Dante…" she began, not really knowing what to say. She was still new to the whole relationship thing and showing affection was something that she never did in front of anybody except Dante, and at a push at that.

Dante turned and smiled at her. She smiled back at him, obviously happy to see him smiling like his old self again. She let her hands slip down to his chest as Dante stood. "What's got you in such a good mood then?" she asked, he trademark smirk adorning her face.

Dante replied with his own trademark smirk. "Well, let's just say I've got a plan."


	6. Past and Present

**Hey all! So like I promised I'm trying to be better with updating. A few things I want to point out though. A few people have commented how I've names and spellings wrong and I'm just going to apologise here and now. I'm only human so I make mistakes. I'll try to not make any more in the rest of the story. Once again thank you for the support. Please remember to comment, follow and favourite. I really like reading the comments to see what you all think of it. XD **

**-WarriorOfTheLight**

Lok threw another Boltflare at the dummy. He hadn't even been thinking about how much power he was using until the dummy exploded into a thousand pieces. Frustrated, he walked over to the punching bag and began hitting it without any protection on his hands. He welcomed the pain. It helped clear his mind.

He couldn't believe that he had seen _them_. And they had been so happy. After everything they had been through together, they forgot about him and left him to rot in Huntik! The more he thought, the harder his punches got. Finally after one almighty swing, the punchbag went flying off its hook into the wall.

Lok looked down at his hands. They were bruised and bloody, but his mind wasn't yet clear. What hurt the most was that Sophie and Den had been dancing together, looking like a couple. A few years ago, Lok would never have doubted Sophie, but after what he had been through, all he felt towards her was anger. Anger and pain. He had loved her. Everything he had been through was for her.

His anger rising again, Lok forced all of his energy and power into his aura, making the air around his crackle with blue energy. After he had sufficiently worn himself out, he cut the power, allowing his legs to buckle and he crumpled to the floor. Lok ran his hands through his hair and then down his face, feeling the coarse stubble that was growing on his jaw.

He knew what he needed. He was in need of a good fight. All of his nerves were screaming for it. Wind and Shauna were weak. They stood no chance against him. He had had to strengthen himself when in Huntik, otherwise he would be dead by now. Everything there was so strong and powerful. At first Lok hid. He had expected the others to contact him and find him, but after a fortnight, he had given up hope. Hope was all he had left there and they destroyed it. They had broken him.

When his hope had been annihilated, he had gone out seeking a fight. Seeking death. He no longer cared. But then he had defeated the first wild titan that he had encountered. He felt good. For the first time, he felt like he had a purpose. So then he concentrated all his efforts on becoming stronger. So strong that the titans knew who he was and began to fear him. That power was all he needed. It gave him purpose. He knew that he could rule Huntik and nothing could stop him.

Well, that was until he encountered the Professor. He still remembered how shock had frozen his body. All his training had amounted to nothing when he saw the other man. The Professor had been affected by Huntik too. No longer was he the ill old man whom Lok had battled all those years ago. Lok was looking at Simon Judeau. Luckily Simon had not seen Lok. Instead he had been busy training titans to obeying his every command. Lok had seen those titans before in his personal training. These were the only titans that did not fear him and his increasing power.

The insanity that had overtaken Lok whilst he had been in the titan world had cleared momentarily and Lok had decided to track and watch Simon's every move. Simon stood in the way of Lok ruling Huntik and Lok knew he had to put an end to that. It was this watching that had allowed Lok to return to the mortal world. He saw Simon open the portal once more and leave, and Lok, in a moment of despair jumped through after him, finding himself alone in Venice.

Since returning, Lok had seen no trace of the Professor and he feared the worst. He knew how easy it would be for Simon to start up the Organisation again. Maybe Wind and Shauna had been working for him, but Lok highly doubted it. They had been working for Rassimov and Lok was sure that Simon would not let that kind of betrayal go so easily. That meant that the Blood Spirals were still at large and operational.

Lok snorted to himself. He knew so much from being back a week and he was sure that the Foundation knew nothing. He shook his head at their inabilities. He was sure that they were more focused on him than on why Wind and Shauna had been standing in a crowded Venetian street in broad daylight and attacking him, not caring about who saw him.

The thought of a fight got Lok's adrenaline pumping. Soon he could no longer sit still and as he moved to stand, something caught his attention. His senses had improved tenfold since Huntik, and he heard a slight thump, slight enough that most people wouldn't even notice it, but he knew that sound too well. It was a footfall. Someone else was here.

Senses on high alert, Lok stood and remained motionless with his head down. _4…3…2…1…_ he counted down as the doors burst open and Foundation members crowded in. he still remained still. _Let them get close_.

"OK lad. You're going to come with us." An unfamiliar voice sounded. A smile threatened to tug at Lok's lips. Had he once been this naïve at his own abilities?

When Lok didn't move, the Foundation members advances, amulets at the ready. Some titans were already out. Lok identified the few Freelancers by their light-footed metallic footsteps. The titans were on his left and the seekers on his right. This was going to be too easy.

When Lok still refused to move, the seekers advanced. When they were a foot away from Lok, he snapped his head up and sent a Touchram at the floor, sending the rows of seekers flying backwards. The titans attacked and Lok ducked under the lance of the first Freelancer, grabbing the lance whilst moving and ripping it from the titan's grasp. He threw it through the first three Freelancers, sending them back to their amulets.

Something slammed against Lok's back and he stumbled, mentally cursing himself for letting his guard down. He twisted his back and flipped the Sekhmet from him. As it fell, Lok raised his hand and dispatched it with a powerful Dragonfist. He looked up at the advancing seekers. Some of them had been knocked unconscious by his first attack. Never one to run from a fight, Lok let them approach.

Lok was surprised and mildly amused when the remaining seekers still approached him. Had they learned nothing from before? When Lok was happy with their distance he leapt up, crying "Hyperstride!". As he flew over their heads, Lok flipped and sent a Forceblast into the centre of the mass of seekers. He landed softly as the smoke from his final attack cleared. He surveyed the scene. Immobile and unconscious seekers littered the floor. He was not impressed with how easy it had all been. He was actually disappointed in the weakness of the Foundation.

He wondered briefly at how the Foundation had known his location. Of course there was only one answer. The people who had seen him. He hated that even now, they still betrayed him. He spun on the balls of his feet and, without a second glance back, Lok began to make his way to his destination.

/

The seekers were all sitting in the living room after breakfast. They were planning on how best to approach the issue of Lok. They knew he was angry at them. They didn't know if he would attack them. They were heartened by the fact that he had not attacked Scarlett though. They had been looking for him for days and today they were just planning on likely places that Lok would be when a video call came through.

The seekers quickly put away the map of Venice and Dante stood to answer the call. Guggenheim's face appeared on the screen. Rather than looking like his usual happy self, there were worry lines set in his face and his eyes were dark from lack of sleep.

"Guggenheim. What can we do for you?" Dante asked, even though he already knew.

"Ah, Dante. There appears to be a rogue seeker in Venice at the moment." Guggenheim paused to let the information sink in and watched as the exact same look of shock plastered each face of the seeker in the room. That is except for Dante, but Guggenheim knew the lead seeker cold mask his emotions easily. "I'm not setting this as a mission for your team, Dante. This seeker is dangerous. I sent a team of my best Foundation seekers after him yesterday and he defeated each one. With no more than three attacks if my team tells it right. This is not someone who you can go against. I'm warning you as you are in Venice and just to keep an eye out. If you see anything suspicious, inform the Foundation immediately. Any questions?"

Sophie cleared her suddenly very dry throat. "Umm… do you know who this seeker is?"

Guggenheim shook his head, unaware of the relief he had just spread through each seeker there. "No, Miss Casterwill, I'm afraid I don't. My team told me only a brief description: tall, blonde and incredibly powerful. I'm sorry that this isn't much to go on, but it is all we are going on." Something caught Guggenheim's eye to his left. "Right seekers, remember to watch and report but do not approach." With that the call ended.

Dante turned back to the seekers, unsurprised that they were all very pale. "How did they know about Lok?" Scarlett questioned. She felt incredibly uneasy about the fact that Lok had defeated an entire team.

Dante was about to answer when a voice sounded around the room.

"Yes. Tell us Dante. How did they know?"

Dante spun to find Lok lounging quite comfortably in a chair to his left.


End file.
